Wallbracket for standing telephones



United States Patent 72] inventor Knut Hugo Blomberg Lokattsvaegen 39, Bromma, Sweden [21] Appl. No. 708,944 [22] Filed Feb. 28, 1968 [45] Patented Dec. 15, 1970 54 WALLBRACKET FOR STANDING TELEPHoNES 7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] [1.5. CI 179/146; 248/240.1, 248/310 [51] Int. Cl H04m l/ll [50] Field of Search 179/146; 248/240, 310, 316, 240.1, 240.4

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,341.105 5/1920 Bohlman 179/146 2,895,702 7/1959 Pierce 248/310X FOREIGN PATENTS 220,735 5/1968 Sweden 179/146 Primary Examiner-William C. Cooper Att0rneyl-lane & Baxley ABSTRACT: A wallbracket for a one-piece upright telephonethe forward part extends into the housing and rests upon the bottom wall thereof thereby holding the required minimum depth of the housing to a minimum.

PATENTEU nEm 519m 3548.117

Fig. 6 7

I KI -1T was BLOW-Ella Y Maw 1 WALLBRACKET FOR STANDING'TELEPHONES This invention relates to a wall bracket for telephones of the one-piece upright or standing microtelephone type. For such telephones it has been proposed to provide wall box forming a shelf on which the instrument could be placed when it does not stand on a table. The same type of instrument could then be used as table and wall set as well. No such wall box however has been accepted so far in practice dueto the fact that the telephone needs a relatively large supporting surface and the box must therefore be rather bulky and protrude considerably from the wall. An objeetof the invention is to eliminate these disadvantages and to provide a convenient' and for different purposes adaptable and reliable wall shelf of attractive appearance.

The new shelf is characterized by having one part to be fixed on the wall and constructed as aholder for the telephone and another part that is movable in relation to the first one and constitutes a supporting shelf for the telephone which can be moved together with the fixed part when the telephone is not placed on the shelf. In this way a shelf of considerably smaller size and less protruding from the wall than the wall boxes of previous proposals is obtained.

Various types of such wall bracket or box, serving different purposes can be made. The most simple type has the sole purpose of forming a bracket for a standing telephone without any connections to the telephone installation. In another type it is fitted with terminals for the telephone line and with terminals for a jack for connecting the instrument cord and then functions as a usual wall terminal box. Another type contains also the set's signalling equipment, a bell for example, switches or other electrical components which cannot be conveniently fitted in the standing telephone. It can also be combined with a telephone directory for example or other facili' ties for comfortable telephone conversation.

The invention will be explained more in detail in connection with examples shown in the attached drawings;

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the principle form of the most simple type of wall bracket withoutconnection to the telephone installation. It is suitably made completely of plastic and consists of the bracket 1 to be fixed to the wall by screws not shown and the flap or cover 3 which is connected to the bracket through a hinge 2 suitably pressed in the plastic. The bracket is formed as a hollow case or housing '4 into which the front part of the base or foot 5 of the standing telephone 6 can he slipped. The telephone will then rest with the front parts of its foot on the bottom 4a of the case 4 and with the rear part on the flap which in this position continues the surface of the bottom of the case. The on-off switch button of the telephone projecting from the bottom of its foot as conventional with telephones of this kind is then pushed in by the weight of the instrument and thus held in the off-position. As the upper part 7 of the case matches the outline of the foot of the telephone it does not stop the hand of the user when the instrument is moved into the bracket. The side edges 8 of the case are made elastic, for example in the form of lips pressing against the foot of the telephone or its rubber strip 9 when the telephone is placed in the bracket. The upper part of the case could also be elastic. By these means the case makes a holder for the instrument that safely prevents it from sliding of from the bracket if one should happen to knock the instrument, pull the cord and so on. This safety effect could be increased'by suitable structuring of the surface of the flap and also by arranging the bottom of the case in such a way that the flap presses it upwards against the bottom of the telephone.

The telephone can be placed in the bracket only in the way shown and there will be no risk for placing it unintentionally so that the switch button will not be pushed in. Hereby one of the problems pointed out has been solved'by the holder according to the invention. If it is desirable however to be able to place the instrument during conversation on thebracket with the switch remaining on-position the bracket can be arranged so that the instrument can be placed with the front part of its foot on the upper part of the case and with its rear edge in a recess of the flap.

By choosing the angle between the'supporting surface for the telephone and the wall (more than the distance between the upper end of the instrument, the ear piece, and the wall can be given the right size. To protect the wall furthermore against accidental knocking with the ear piece the bracket can be provided with a wall plate 10.

When the telephone is not placed on the bracket the flap can be turned up to close the case like a cover which by suitable means may be locked in that position, FIG. 3. The correct shape of the flap is easily obtainable by the great similarity between the shape of the rear edge and the peripheral wall of the front part of the foot of the telephone.

When the flap is turned up the bracket is fully closed, of smallest possible size and has a depth. from the wall that is less than half of the depth of the telephone foot.

The wall bracket shown in FIG. 3 contains terminals for the telephone line and a jack 11 for connection of the telephone cord by a plug. In this bracket even a switch could be fitted which is operated by the flap in one of its positions, to effect desired switching operations.

FIG. 4 shows a wall bracket that also contains the telphones signalling bell or other electric components. In order to obtain a small overall size, the bell'12 is fitted in a case 13 above the bracket, the case and the bracket being suitably combined in one unit. As the bell is a rather thin device theneeded depth of the case is small and it will not be in the way of the hand of the user when placing the instrument in the bracket. The case has the advantage that it provides a protection against unintended knocks of the ear piece against the wall.

Case 13 may also be used for fitting a loud speaker transistor amplifier or any other electronic device needed in connection with a standing telephone.

Instead of fitting electrical equipment in case 13 a telephone number listing index can be arranged. When the flap of the case is turned down the wanted page of the index can be picked up in the usual manner. Instead of an index a pack of paper sheets for notes may be provided.

, FIG. 5 shows an application of the bracket in FIG. 1 in which under the holder there is a case for a paper roll 14 for notes. The paper strip is pulled up behind the case and protrudes at the top of the bracket where it can be gradually torn off by usual means.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show another type of the most simple application of the invention. Instead of placing the telephone with its front against and at a right angle to the wall as in FIGS. 1 and 2 this bracket is so designed that the instrument can be placed parallel to the wall. The part 1 of the bracket secured to the wall is provided with a concave front surface 15, the lower edge of which isformed as a flange 16. Between this flange and the bottom surface of the bracket there is a groove 17. The curvature of the flange matches that of the telephone foot and the rubber band 9 on the foot fits in that groove when the telephone is moved into the bracket. The telephone is then held by the flange l6 and the instrument is prevented from falling down from the shelf 3. Due to the concave form of the front surface of the bracket part 1 it will not be in the way of the hands of the user gripping the telephone around its base. As the bracket is fully symmetrical the telephone can be placed upon shelf 3 either from the right or from the left side.

The brackets shown in the FIGS. are just examples of application of the invention. Modifications in different ways can be made without departing from the concept of the invention. The movable part of the bracket, for example, can be made in the form of a plate which is pushed into the bracket, instead of a flap with a hinge. The signal bell or other devices could be arranged in a case under the flap instead of above and so on.

I claim:

l. A wall bracket for a one-piece upright telephone having a base from which rises a slim column, said wall bracket comprising: I g

a housing open at one side, said housing being adapted to-be secured to a support wall with one of its closed sides;

a cover hinged to the open side of the housing at the edge of the base wall thereof, said cover being tiltable into alignment with the base wall of the housing to constitute a shelf extending from said base wall; and

said housing being shaped for receiving therein and supporting on its base wall a front part of the base of the telephone and said shelf being shaped for supporting thereon a rear part of said base.

2 The wall bracket according to claim 1 wherein said cover is tiltable into an up position closing the open side of the hous- 3. The wall bracket according to claim 1 wherein parts of the edges of the housing at the open side thereof are made of elastic material for engagement with the base of the telephone when placed upon said shelf.

4. The wall bracket according to claim 1 wherein electric circuit components are mounted within the housing.

5. The wall bracket according to claim 1 wherein the housing includes mounting members adapted for supporting accessories. i v

6. The wall bracket according to claim 1 wherein a concavely curved wall portion defines part of the outline of the open side of the housing, the concavely curved side of said wall portion facing outwardly for accommodating a matchingly curved part ofthe base ofthe telephone when placed upon said shelf.

7. The wall bracket according to claim 6 wherein the free edge of said curved wall portion includes along its length a groove engageable with a rim portion of the base of the telephone when placed upon its shelf to retain said base in position on the shelf. 

